When I began decluttering it was all about downsizing to fit into a smaller home. However it didn’t take long to realise that decluttering resulted in simplicity. Here are some ways in which my life has become simpler due to my decluttering.

• Decluttering displayed items means less dusting making housework simpler.
• Decluttering items inside cupboards and drawers makes it simpler to keep them organised and tidy.
• Less stuff in general makes it simpler to keep an entire home tidy.
• And when the house is tidier it is also simpler to clean the surfaces because there is less stuff to move out of your way.
• Simplifying your housework means it is simpler to find time to do other things you enjoy more.
• The less clothes I own the simpler it is to decide what to wear.
• The less stuff I buy (because I don’t want to become cluttered again) the simpler it is to save money.
• The less stuff to choose from in any category the simpler it is to find the items I need when I need them.

And now that I have reached my goal of living in a smaller place in a wonderful location it is…

• Simpler to keep fit because it is a delight to go out for long walks and enjoy the scenery and atmosphere.
• It is simpler to get from A to B because most of what I need is within walking or cycling distance which means no getting the car out and trying to find parking spots. And public transport is in abundance here also.
• It is simpler to get to a cafe that sells good coffee because there are so many handy to my location.
• It is simpler to go to the movie theatre, the beach and restaurants because they are also within walking distance.

I am sure I could go on but I will leave it at that for now.

What have you found to be simpler in your life because of your decluttering? And what possibilities or opportunities have opened up in your life for the same reason?

Today’s Mini Mission

Make the effort to list an item for sale that you are been wanting to rid yourself of but haven’t mustered the effort to bother with.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you are one for ironing just about anything ~ sheets, underwear, pyjamas, tea towels etc ~ do yourself a favour and give it up for the sake of the environment. Electrical energy won’t be the only energy you will be saving.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Way back at the start of my declutter journey it was obvious that my craft collection of tools and materials was way out of hand. Especially since I hardly bothered to find the time to use them. So I set about deciding which tools I used and which ones I didn’t and which materials I didn’t like so much. Separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

The before and after shots of my craft room. Click here if you want to see the progression shots.

As you can see there is a vast difference between the before and after shots above. But this didn’t happen overnight. It happened gradually through several sorting sessions to decide what I use, what I don’t and what I thought I never would. Many of you have read about my progress when it comes to my craft supplies but this post isn’t simply about that.

This post is about knowing yourself in this time period, seeing where you have come from and foreseeing where you are going and decluttering with that in mind.

This post was inspired by an email I received from my husband yesterday. A work colleague had posted a For Sale ad on their work social board. He had finally come to the conclusion that he and his wife so rarely ride their motorbikes these days that it was time to let them go to a new home.

I dare say this decision took a lot of soul searching because they had been avid riders and dedicated BMW motorcycle fans for a long time. Their bikes and associated gear were decked out with every mod con going. However after spending twelve months separated from their bikes, while working overseas, their lives had taken a different turn. As life is prone to do. It took a couple more years, of the bikes sitting almost idle in the garage, to finally come to the conclusion that life has moved on and it is time to let them go.

The situation was much the same with my crafting supplies. The only difference was that I still loved to craft, I had done so since as far back as I can remember, and I was still participating in it if only on an irregular basis. What I did was reduce what I had to fit the impending change in my lifestyle. Now I find I am once again crafting all the time and even have an outlet to sell my handmade items.

So you see it can take time to make the hard decisions. Every parting with clutter isn’t a sweet one. And sometimes it is just a matter of reducing rather than letting go altogether. Either way it is about know yourself and realising what is now clutter to you and what isn’t.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that triggers fond memories but is never displayed where you can see it.

Eco Tip for the Day

While running the water in the shower till it gets hot only run the hot water so you aren’t wasting more water than necessary.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Have you ever noticed how when you buy something it requires you to buy something else to go with it. You buy a new dress and then decide you need shoes to match. You buy a new cookbook and realise you need some extra utensils and ingredients to make the recipes. You buy a piece of sporting equipment and you need to by a storage bag, another piece of equipment, maintenance equipment and supplies. You buy a leather garment and you need leather conditioner. You buy a bike and need a pump, an oil can, a helmet and a basket…

I could go on and on about this for hours. And the same goes to changes in your life. A young person gets their licence and then they need a car and all the stuff that goes with maintaining it. You have a child and I haven’t got space here to list all the things that usually accompanies this wondrous occasion. You change hairstyles and then you need different products and styling equipment. You start a new hobby witch requires tools and supplies. You change careers and a different set of equipment and dress code are necessary. And once again the list goes on.

It is no wonder then that our homes end up so cluttered with stuff. Even less of a wonder when with the passing of each phase we then store them away in case we need this stuff again someday. Meanwhile we have moved into another phase and acquired all the stuff that goes along with it.

People often ask me if I ever regret getting rid of things. Well sometimes an occasion arises where it would have been good had I still had an item on hand, but I usually improvise and manage without it. I have long ago learned that most of the things we acquire along this journey of life are just conveniences and we can get by happily without them.

Hence why I have little regret for letting things go and no desire to rush out buying stuff to equip me for a new phase of life. That is not to say I don’t buy anything at all, but what I do do is give it long and considered thought. I also test run ideas before taking the plunge. But that is a post for another day.

So what I am getting at with this post is…

When moving from one phase to another in life, as this is inevitable, declutter the stuff that worked with your old life and think very carefully about what you will use in the new one before rushing out to reclutter your home. And be wise to the pitfall that one purchase leads to another and another. Choose wisely.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a fashion item. Be that clothing, accessories, shoes or maybe just a magazine.

Eco Tip for the Day

Use some sort of reusable splatter guard when heating in the microwave. This can be rinsed off and used over and over rather than wasting paper towel or plastic wrap. I use a large plastic microwave safe container lid when reheating most dishes or a glass casserole dish with a lid when cooking from scratch.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Today I want to share with you photos of my new home. It is a work in progress but I am sure you will agree that we have slotted in fairly well so far. However my photography leaves a little to be desired.

We are constantly decluttering and reshuffling and it is coming together nicely. This Friday we take possession of a secondhand 70s sideboard which will replace my craft cubes that have been serving as our TV cabinet since we moved in. Two of the cubes will go into my kitchen cupboards while two others in the spare room wardrobe will be decluttered to make room for the paper file drawer cubes.

We are also getting some organisational fittings in the pantry and laundry in the near future to make them more functional. I will take some before shots of these spaces prior to the improvements and share them with the comparison after shots when complete.

And we will eventually also be fitting picture rails to some of the walls to accommodate the art and framed photos that survive our constant culling. At the moment the spaces under the beds are cluttered with these items.

One step at a time and, as per the usual 365 approach, there is no hurry. We will slowly bring it all together in our own good time and let go of the things that don’t fit with our ever evolving vision for it.

Below is a photo of the bath tub side of the main bathroom at the time the other photos were taken. It has since been cleared and several of those items have been decluttered or listed on ebay.

We are loving it here!

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that requires assembly to use so you can never be bothered with it. Perhaps a complicated kitchen gadget.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Today’s Decluttered Item
Some poster size photos that we have no wall space for.

On our daily walks by the beach my husband and I pass by a little rock pool area. As we walked by the other day I wondered something of Steve that not one minute later he put into words ~ “Do you sometimes regret decluttering the snorkelling gear?” After laughing and telling him I had just wondering if he though that, my unreserved response was no.

You see we had had that snorkelling gear for at least twenty years when I finally decluttered it. It hadn’t been used for about nineteen of those twenty years. The fact is that if I hadn’t began this declutter mission, and let go of all the things we didn’t use, then we would likely never have fitted into our lovely little apartment near the ocean.

Peoples’ lifestyles continually change and if we kept everything because we thought that life would go full circle and we might need things again and again then we would be so bogged down in stuff that life would likely become stagnant. Now that is something I would regret.

Today’s Mini Mission

Start a trial separation of costume jewellery items.

Eco Tip for the Day

Clothes don’t usually need to go in the wash after just one use. Wearing them at least twice will save on laundry detergent, electricity and your time and energy. (This does not apply to underpants. 😉 )

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

There was a lot of chatter generated yesterday about an overabundance of plastic containers. It seems most of us still have an excess of these.

In a bid to reduce food items in both the fridge and pantry due to my long vacation and impending move late last year, I have become very efficient at catering, shopping and using up leftovers to the point where my need for plastic containers has become greatly reduce. I mostly shop for fresh produce, meat and dairy these days from which there is very little waste. Any leftovers are soon devoured.

I have also eliminated several baking items in my pantry. Because I only make dessert once a week, if that, there is no need for a plethora of ingredients to be stored in the panty. For starters, I managed for seven and a half years, living in America, using a combo of baking powder and plain flour rather than stocking self-raising flour so I decided that was good enough for here too. That eliminated one large canister in my pantry. We use rice much less these days too due to our lower carb eating choices so I reduced the amount I stored. Similarly ingredients such as desiccated coconut were so infrequently used I decided it could also go, along with several pasta varieties, chick peas, noodles and white sugar. Should I ever wish to make something with any of these ingredients I buy the smallest possible quantity so there is little or no leftovers, any of which I include in another recipe ASAP.

I also have a variety of glass mixing bowls that nest inside each other which can also be used of storing food. If I can make and store the item in the same bowl it also saves on washing up adding a little more efficiency and an element of eco friendliness. These bowls have lids, but if they didn’t I would opt for a plate to seal the food in rather than waste cling film.

Admittedly not having any children left at home has added greatly to this streamlining.

Is there an area in your life where efficiency would allow you to declutter?

Today’s Mini Mission

Start a trial separation of fashion accessories.

Eco Tip for the Day

Yesterday I cleaned all the glass doors on my balcony. What did I use to do that? Microfibre cloths and water. No chemicals and they are as clean as a whistle. A few good microfibre cloths and good old H2O is better for the environment and can save you cash as well.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

One of our long time regular readers Doodle has kindly agreed to help out here at 365 by writing a blog post for me every other Wednesday. Today is her first regular post although not the first she has contributed. She has become quite the expert on the subject of decluttering over the years and I am sure you will all be able to learn a lot from her. Welcome Doodle and thank you for your contributions, past, present and future.

Owning your life skill

The biggest reason I owned too much stuff, was I just never realised I didn’t have to. It was as simple as that: getting rid of stuff as a regular proactive life choice had just never occurred to me.

The realisation I could be happier with much less came gradually. Now, the more I get rid of, the more I look to pare back even further and it brings a deep satisfaction that this is the way I’m meant to live. (Fortunately I’m no minimalist longing for bare white walls: my husband is a bit of a hoarder so I am always going to have walls filled with his books.)

Knowing you don’t have to keep everything you’ve ever owned is a life skill in my opinion. Some of us learn this sooner and some of us later and like all life skills, the fact it is ok to let go of stuff can be taught and learned.

We don’t have to be trapped for ever in being overwhelmed by excessive belongs…how good is that!

So those of you who have been de-cluttering for a while now, do you realise you are honing an excellent life skill that you are not only benefitting from yourself, but can pass on to others?

After all I have learned about de-cluttering in the last 3 years I found myself naturally helping a few family and friends who’d got a bit overwhelmed.

It became apparent that I have a knack of helping in just the right way and they all encouraged me to do it professionally. So now I do. I love it so much.

If someone came to you for help, what 3 top tips would you give them to get them started and how would you sell the knock on benefits of a de-cluttered life to others in less than three sentences?

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter something hanging on your wall.

Eco Tip for the Day

Take the stairs instead of the lift. The exercise is good for you and you save electricity. I have to remember this myself instead of walking past the stairs, that are right outside my apartment door all the way across the building to the life. I may actually hardly be using any extra energy by taking the stairs. Silly me.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

CiI read this great little

I read this great little post the other day – 46 ways to increase your happiness. Of course, I wasn’t surprised at all to find that reducing clutter was on the list (number 31). I followed the link to the summary of a University of California Los Angeles study about “crushing”number of possessions in the households of 32 Los Angeles families. I highly recommend you read the whole article and examine the photos. I’m going to highlight some of the portions that struck me as particularly important.

First of all, only we know what goes on it our home; only we can tell (or hide) the truth about our clutter and excessive purchases. “Marketers and credit card companies record and analyze every nuance of consumer purchasing patterns, but once people shuttle shopping bags into their homes, the information flow grinds to a halt.”

“Managing the volume of possessions was such a crushing problem in many homes that it actually elevated levels of stress hormones for mothers.” Later in the article, it says that men do not  see or respond to mess like women do.

Today’s Mini Mission

Eco Tip For The Day

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Way way back on Day 258 of my decluttering journey I wrote this post on five items I won’t declutter. Today I am writing an update on that post. Pictured below are the five items in question.

So which of these items do I still own that I would never part with.

The Flour Sifter ~ As I have mentioned previously was decluttered. It left on the 19th Oct, 2012. As I mentioned in this post I decided I no longer needed it, either for practical or sentimental reasons.

The Can Opener ~  This I still have. It serves me well and I have no need to replace it with some new fancy modern equivalent. This old fashioned type is good enough for me.

The Peg Bag ~ Natural progression finally took hold of this item. It got very old and even rattier than it looks in the photo. I used it to make a pattern to sew a similar one for my daughter but I chose not to replace mine. Instead I began using a plastic basket I already owned. This substitution started out as a trial separation, knowing that I could make another if I wished, but I have not as yet bothered to do so. A part of it still remains, the coat hanger within it was used in my daughters new version. Hers is made from a luscious rich red corded velour fabric remnant that I got cheap at a craft shop.

The Laptop ~ This was replaced long ago. It was over six years old and not cooperating well. So in essence it wasn’t decluttered just substituted. It was sold on eBay and hopefully some tech savvy person managed to revamp it and it is still in use somewhere today.

The Grill Pan ~ This is another of those old, well seasoned items that is still in my possession. It is great for cooking pancakes and many other foods on. It was secondhand when my mother-in-law gave it to me and I know that if I decided I didn’t want it my daughter would be happy to take it off my hands.

All these items were of great service to me. They were, and in some cases still are, used and used and used. This is the kind of stuff that I find most valuable in my home. No fancy china, not mementoes of past achievements, not an extensive wardrobe or status symbols. Just good old fashioned useful stuff.

Here is what my daughter wrote in the comments of that original post back on day 258:-

I almost fell over when I saw the photo that was next to this post when it came up on Facebook. It was the one of the skillet from grandma and I thought you’d gotten rid of it. It’s honestly the greatest skillet known to man..and the rest of those items are all some of my favorites. A little bit because they’re just really useful and good items to have around the house but also because through all the moving that we’ve done over the years, they’ve always been with us to make each new house feel like home.

Decluttering isn’t all about getting rid of stuff it is more about sorting out and only keeping the good stuff that is truly important to you for whatever reason.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

“I have appreciated my decluttering efforts when having a party, as I wrote before, but never thought I would be finding myself appreciating them in illness. Recently I had health problems that forced me to do some bed rest. I have two young children, so it was only a “kind of” bed rest. However I did not have much energy and the little energy I had was devoted to the children, in the time I had to care for them alone, and not the house.

As you may all imagine, the house was left “to its own devices”. After one week of me doing nothing (my husband washed the dishes everyday) I decided to do something. Surprisingly enough, I only had three loads of laundry to wash (including sheets) and not so many things out of place. Did the house clean itself up? No. As I don’t have as much stuff as I used to have maintenance got easier. Make the beds, wash dishes, sweep the floor, put clothes in the washing machine and the house seems fairly clean. It seems a lot, but as I was a person used to 3 days of mad cleaning to get the house in reasonable order, that really is something else. It also gave me peace to rest. My house was a little messy, but it was not unbearable. It was not cluttered and out of control. I can say that being ill made me want to declutter even more. It made me see that, if I have even less, I can calmly manage a house even if I am ill and depend on others for a while. They will have no trouble keeping my house in order because there is little to keep in order.

As I have chronic conditions now (not life threatening, but that require care), I have to be prepared for bouts of extreme pain that may keep me from most day to day house chores and that will be harder to deal with if I have a cluttered house I have to keep on top of. As I get older I know my body will be more fragile and I don’t want to waste precious energy and possibly putting stress on my body that I can’t take, because of clutter.

As I had time on my hands (arm was hurt and I could not move the mouse, so no computer or internet for me) I started to think about all that I was still keeping that I did not need to keep. I thought about all the stuff that could be decluttered and make my life even simpler. I calmly evaluated room by room in my house and discarded in my mind what was not needed.

So what can you declutter in your house that would help to keep it manageable if you are sick?”

Today’s Mini Mission

Absorb ~ Read a book that has been sitting on your shelf for a while and then declutter it.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow